Permeability Jailbreak: A Deep Simulation Study of Hydraulic Fracture Cleanup in Heterogeneous Tight Gas Reservoirs

Hamid Reza Nasriani () and Mahmoud Jamiolahmady
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Hamid Reza Nasriani: School of Engineering & Computing, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
Mahmoud Jamiolahmady: Institute of Geoenergy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-37

Abstract: Ultra-tight gas reservoirs present severe flow constraints due to complex interactions between rock–fluid properties and hydraulic fracturing. This study investigates the impact of unconventional capillary pressure correlations and permeability jail effects on post-fracture cleanup in multiple-fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) using high-resolution numerical simulations. A novel modelling approach is applied to represent both weak and strong permeability jail phenomena in heterogeneous rock systems. A comprehensive suite of parametric simulations evaluates gas production loss (GPL) and produced fracture fluid (PFF) across varying fracture fluid volumes, shut-in times, drawdown pressures, and matrix permeabilities. The analysis leverages statistically designed experiments and response surface models to isolate the influence of rock heterogeneity and saturation-dependent flow restrictions on cleanup efficiency. The results reveal that strong jail zones drastically hinder fracture fluid recovery, while weak jail configurations interact with heterogeneity to produce non-linear cleanup trends. Notably, reducing the pore size distribution index in Pc models improves predictive accuracy for ultra-tight conditions. These findings underscore the need to integrate unconventional Kr and Pc behaviour in hydraulic fracturing design to optimise flowback and long-term gas recovery. This work provides critical insights for improving reservoir performance and supports ambitions in energy resilience and net-zero transition strategies.

Keywords: permeability Jail; heterogeneity; flowback cleanup; hydraulic fracturing; fracturing fluid; capillary pressure; IFT; unconventional reservoirs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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